Learn Hardcore French: Il y a un an, nous n'utilisions pas cette application.

Even though it refers to the past, il y a itself stays in the present tense in this expression. You don’t say ✗il y avait un an for “a year ago”; you keep il y a.

Can I put il y a un an at the end of the sentence instead of at the start?

Yes. French is flexible with time expressions.

Il y a un an, nous n'utilisions pas cette application.
Nous n'utilisions pas cette application il y a un an.

Both are correct and natural.
Starting with the time expression can sound a bit more formal or emphatic; putting it at the end is very common in everyday speech.

What is the difference between un an and une année? Could I say Il y a une année?

Both an and année mean “year,” but they’re used differently:

un an: neutral, used for counting or measuring time
- Il y a un an. – A year ago.
- J’ai 20 ans. – I am 20 years old.
une année: emphasizes the duration, the content or “experience” of the year
- Une année difficile – a difficult year
- Toute l’année – all year long

In this sentence, we’re just measuring time, so un an is the normal choice.
You could hear Il y a une année in some styles, but it sounds marked or literary; Il y a un an is the standard everyday form.

Why is it nous n'utilisions pas and not nous n’avons pas utilisé?

It’s the difference between the imparfait and the passé composé:

Imparfait (nous n'utilisions pas): describes ongoing, repeated, or habitual actions in the past.
→ “At that time, we weren’t in the habit of using it / we didn’t use it (as a general state).”
Passé composé (nous n’avons pas utilisé): describes a completed action or single event.
→ “We didn’t use it (on that specific occasion).”

In Il y a un an, nous n'utilisions pas cette application, you’re talking about your general situation or habits a year ago, so the imparfait (utilisions) is appropriate.

How is utilisions formed, and what tense is it?

Utilisions is imparfait, 1st person plural (nous) of utiliser.

To form the imparfait:

Take the nous form of the present tense:
- nous utilisons
Remove -ons to get the stem:
- utilis-
Add imparfait endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient

So:

je utilisais
tu utilisais
il/elle/on utilisait
nous utilisions
vous utilisiez
ils/elles utilisaient

In your sentence, nous n'utilisions pas = we were not using / we didn’t use (as a habit).

Why is it n'utilisions with an apostrophe instead of ne utilisions?

This is elision: in French, ne becomes n’ before a verb that starts with a vowel sound (or a mute h).

ne + utilisions → n'utilisions
ne + avons → n'avons
ne + aimons → n’aimons

This is compulsory in standard written French.
So you must write nous n'utilisions pas, not ✗nous ne utilisions pas.

Where does pas go in a negative sentence like this?

The basic pattern in French is:

ne / n’ + verb + pas

In your sentence:

nous – subject
n’ – first part of the negation
utilisions – verb
pas – second part of the negation
cette application – object

So you get:
Nous n’utilisions pas cette application.

Other examples:

Je n’aime pas ça. – I don’t like that.
Il ne parle pas français. – He doesn’t speak French.

In real spoken French, do people actually say nous n’utilisions pas or something simpler?

In everyday speech, you’ll often hear changes:

Nous → on (very common in spoken French):
- On n’utilisait pas cette application.
The ne / n’ is often dropped in informal spoken French:
- On utilisait pas cette application.

So, in casual speech, many people would say:

On utilisait pas cette application il y a un an.

But in writing or formal speech, you should keep ne / n’ and nous:

Il y a un an, nous n’utilisions pas cette application.

Why is it cette application and not ce application or cet application?

Cette is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative adjective ce / cet / cette / ces:

masculine singular before a consonant: ce
- ce livre – this book
masculine singular before a vowel or mute h: cet
- cet ordinateur – this computer
feminine singular: cette
- cette application – this application
plural (both genders): ces
- ces applications – these applications

Application is feminine in French (une application), so you must use cette.

Does application in French really mean a phone “app,” or is it a false friend?

It’s a true friend here:

une application (mobile / informatique) → a (mobile / software) app

However, application in French also has other meanings:

l’application (d’une règle) – the application (of a rule)
travailler avec application – to work diligently

In your sentence, with cette application, context usually makes it clear you mean a software app, especially in modern usage.

How do you pronounce nous n’utilisions pas? Are some letters silent?

Approximate pronunciation (in IPA):

nous n’utilisions pas → /nu ny.ti.li.zjɔ̃ pa/

Key points:

nous → /nu/ (the final s is silent)
n’ is just linking nous to utilisions; you hear /n/ joining to the vowel
utilisions → /y.ti.li.zjɔ̃/
- u → /y/ (like German ü)
- final s is silent
- -ions → /jɔ̃/ (a nasal sound, not pronounced as “ee-on”)
pas → /pa/ (final s silent)

Spoken smoothly: [nu ny.ti.li.zjɔ̃ pa].

Could I say On n’utilisait pas cette application il y a un an instead? What changes?

Yes, that’s perfectly correct:

On n’utilisait pas cette application il y a un an.

Differences:

on instead of nous:
- on is very common in spoken French to mean “we.”
- grammatically 3rd person singular, but in meaning it’s like English we.
utilisait (imparfait, 3rd person singular) to match on, instead of utilisions (1st person plural for nous).

Meaning-wise, it’s the same: A year ago, we weren’t using this application.
In conversation, on n’utilisait pas… is more frequent; in more formal writing, nous n’utilisions pas… is safer.